


The spark, the kindling, the flame that never dies

by Suldreen



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Angst, Black Swan - Freeform, Brant's POV, Canon, Dark, Everblaze, F/M, Insanity, Jolie's POV, Neverseen - Freeform, POV Alternating, Tragic Romance, Tragic Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 11:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21098891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suldreen/pseuds/Suldreen
Summary: When Jolie joins the Black Swan, she thinks she's one step closer to bringing change and justice to the Elvin world. Meanwhile, another group, the Neverseen, are also working toward their version of an Elvin utopia, and they're trying to recruit Jolie.She works undercover to investigate, only to realize that she's in for more than she can handle. Not everyone is who she thought they were and soon she is faced with some of the hardest choices in her life.





	The spark, the kindling, the flame that never dies

**Author's Note:**

> This is it - Brant and Jolie's story from the very end of their time together.  
I've always found these two characters super fascinating, and I wanted to have their story all in one piece. I know there are other fics about them out there but I really felt like writing my own version.  
You probably know exactly what happens but I still need to warn you all: it gets upsetting and dark.  
If you haven't read Everblaze yet, I suggest you do that first for context and to avoid spoilers (I know it's been out a long time since it was published but I'd rather warn anyway).
> 
> Disclaimer: There are word-for-word sentences taken from Everblaze by Shannon Messenger (including the title of this fic), neither those nor the original story are my own intellectual property.
> 
> Enjoy!

Brant knew his dad, Emyr, was angry as soon as he heard the front door slam. He was laying on the couch, desperately trying to appear as if he was immersed in the book he was pretending to read but it did very little to keep the heavy footsteps from approaching him.

He braced himself for the outburst but still winced when Emyr's bellowing noise filled the room. ‘What happened to the vase?’ he yelled as he appeared from the hall, his face a deep shade of red.

The afternoon’s events flashed in front of Brant’s eyes as he scrambled to gather his words for the apology he had been preparing. He was playing bramble with his friend, and as he jumped the stairs in front of the house to catch a pass, he accidentally knocked over the decorative vase standing on the porch. He watched in horror as the porcelain shattered all over the ground. All he could do was stand there in stunned silence, his friend trying to pick up the shards in a frenzy to see if they could somehow be pieced back together—they both knew how easily Brant’s dad could lose his temper over the most insignificant things.

Now that Brant thought about it, it was absolutely foolish to play that close to the house to begin with but there was nothing he could do in retrospect.

‘I’m sorry,’ he mumbled, fully aware that it would have zero effect on his raging dad. ‘I can pay for—’

‘Money has nothing to do with it, you know that full well. That was a special gift from the council as a thank you for my help in the past years. It’s invaluable! There is no replacement!’

Brant knew better than to try and argue but he also didn’t understand why such a precious item would be displayed in such an open spot in the first place. But his dad _had_ been known to value material possessions above all else, and wasn’t one to refrain from showing off.

‘Maybe if you spent more time studying and less time fooling around, this would not have happened,’ Emyr continued, not seeming to be anywhere close to regaining his calm. ‘I think it’s time you started taking things more seriously. From now on, you will stop hanging out with your friend and come straight home from school. Alone,’ he added, as if it weren’t self-explanatory.

Brant felt disbelief flood over him. Was he seriously getting grounded?

‘What about bramble practice?’ he asked, his voice trembling. Unfortunately, he already anticipated the answer which made a spark of anger ignite in his chest.

‘Consider it a past distraction,’ his dad growled and turned to walk away.

Oh no, Brant was not having any of that.

‘How would that solve any of this?’ He could barely believe his own strong voice as he vehemently jumped to his feet and tossed the book on the couch. ‘Is it going to give your precious vase back?’

Emyr tried to hide his surprise that Brant—who wasn’t the rebellious type—had just stood up for himself. ‘No, but this way you’ll learn that your actions have consequences!’ he spat, his face contorted with rage.

Brant felt his hands shake as he clenched them into fists. ‘You know that I need bramble. Coach said I was promising. It might secure a place for me in the Elite Levels in the future. How can you take it away from me?’

‘Well, now you’ll get to work for it the hard way. It might teach you a much-needed lesson about priorities,’ was all he his dad said in response, turning to leave.

Brant couldn’t take it anymore. His dad thought bramble was just fun and play. He had no idea how hard Brant had worked for the last few years. The rigorous workouts? The exhausting strategizing with the team? All the extra effort he had put in? Would it all go out the window just like that?

No, he wasn’t going to let that happen.

He felt a weird sensation in his clenched fists, like they were going numb, his palm starting to tingle.

‘You don’t know what’s good for me!’ he yelled, stopping Emyr in his track. ‘You never did! And you never allowed me to pursue my dreams either! Well guess what! You have no say in what I do with my life!’ By this point he was practically screaming, his entire body shaking.

He saw his dad open his mouth but no sound came out. Emyr’s eyes widened in horror, and Brant was almost proud of himself for having gained the high ground for once.

Then he noticed that his dad wasn’t looking him in the eyes. He was staring at Brant’s hands, and Brant slowly followed his gaze.

That’s when he realized that his fists were covered in flames.

Dread came over Brant. He began thrashing desperately, too terrified to make any sound. He was expecting to feel pain but other than the same, numb feeling he felt in his fists before there was no burning sensation whatsoever.

His dad was backing away, his hands in front of him as if he were scared that Brant was going to start throwing fireballs at him. The thought seemed almost entertaining compared to all the absurdity that was overwhelming Brant.

He rushed to the nearest sink and let water pour over his hands. It extinguished the flames but the tingling sensation remained, so he just kept the water running in fear that the flames would light up again if he took his hands away from the stream.

Brant couldn’t fathom what anything meant anymore. Nothing seemed to make sense. But slowly, things started to piece themselves together and he had a horrible suspicion he knew what the flames meant.

_Did I just manifest?_ he swallowed. _Am I a…?_

He couldn’t finish the thought. It was too much to handle. Too unbearable to think. Because that would have meant possessing the one ability that was forbidden in the Elvin world. The realization suddenly made it feel like the room was shrinking around him.

As he slowly calmed down, focusing on the soothing sensation of the water on his skin, the numbness also faded little by little. When he eventually took his hands away and closed the faucet, there were no more flames.

His dad was nowhere to be seen but it was for the better at that moment. All Brant needed was to be alone.

He closed himself in his room and threw himself down on his bed. He grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it. He was too overwhelmed to cry but that didn’t stop panicked sounds from escaping his lips.

He curled up into a ball, hugging his knees to his chest, desperately trying to fight away the suffocating thoughts and worries.

He must have dozed off because when he looked up, it was already dark outside. Brant got up, swaying as blood rushed to his head. He made his way to the bathroom, his body screaming for water.

As he crossed the hall to get to the kitchen, he passed his parents’ bedroom. The muffled whispers coming through the slightly open door made him stop in his track.

‘You can’t seriously mean…’ His mom, Ina, had such a thick voice that Brant was sure she was on the verge of crying.

‘I’m afraid so…’ his dad replied.

‘But that’s… How…? I don’t understand…’

‘Me either,’ Emyr mumbled in defeat. ‘But it’s the truth. I’m afraid we’ll just have to pretend like this never happened and hope that he manifests something else.’

Ina paused for a bit before answering. ‘I’m not sure how that’s possible…’

There was a pause before Brant’s dad answered. ‘I think… we should get this whole thing erased from our minds.’

Ina let out a muffled gasp. ‘You don’t mean… That’s too awful, even for this situation.’

‘What do you want me to do, Ina?’ Emyr snapped impatiently. ‘It’s a Forbidden Talent, for crying out loud. It will at least merit a tribunal, and that’s the least concerning part, as far as I see.’

There was a long stretch of silence before his dad continued, ‘We’ll go to the washers tomorrow morning and then we can pretend like this never happened.’

Brant felt his chest tighten. His parents wanted to erase his ability from their memories.

When he heard his mom start sobbing quietly, Brant sunk to the ground. His breathing became heavy as the paralyzing realization started to hit him.

From that day on he would have to hide his ability. He would have to pretend that he was Talentless.

_Six years later_

Jolie squeezed her textbooks against her chest as she headed to study hall. Her heart was pounding hard but it wasn’t just due to her hurried pace. She was thinking about her plans for that evening.

She would finally get to meet the mysterious rebels. For the past few months she had been talking to them, trying to prove her worth and that she was serious about joining their group. It was all a pretense but she knew she could pull it off.

Jolie thought back to all the secret notes she had received from the Neverseen—a name she found out from the latest message. They had left notes for her in places she never expected. But it wasn’t the only way they were keeping her in check. She had been hearing subtle whispers all around her for a while, revealing hidden messages about who they were, what they wanted and instructions for meeting with them. But they never let themselves be seen—hence the name.

Until now. Tonight she would get to meet them face to face and all of her hard work would pay off at last. The Black Swan had warned her about the dangers of her plan to infiltrate the enemy but as far as she saw she was pretty convincing in her act. She had been training with the Black Swan tirelessly, and thus far she had managed to hide her involvement with both organizations from the people close to her—even Brant. Jolie knew she was getting a little cocky but she had to admit to herself that she was awfully proud of her double life. Triple life, actually.

_Just one more session_, she thought excitedly. _And then… it’s go time._

She entered the enormous hall filled with tables and chairs, the sconces on the walls painting the room with silver light. Jolie looked around, her eyes searching for a place to sit. She felt her chest tighten when she found a dark-haired girl sitting at a table with several other prodigies. As soon as their eyes met, the girl quickly glanced away, blushing slightly.

Nyla. Her former best friend.

Ever since Jolie found out that Brant was officially Talentless, more and more of her friends had started avoiding her. But it was nothing compared to the news of her engagement.

She was so happy when Brant proposed to her a couple of weeks earlier and they were both so eager to start planning for the wedding.

But soon the news spread like wildfire and suddenly the people she assumed were her friends had become distant, making up excuses to stay away from her. Leaving her all alone.

They knew Jolie was going to be a bad match with Brant, something that barely ever happened in their world. Jolie experienced the scorn that came with it but it wasn’t enough to make her change her mind. And her friends simply couldn’t understand that.

_Good riddance_, Jolie thought to herself but there was bitterness to the words. She had convinced herself that the people who condemned her because of her situation weren’t the kind of people she wanted to have around her. But it still hurt, a lot.

There Nyla was, sitting so close to her, yet feeling so far away. Jolie tried to shrug off the sad, bitter feeling as she settled for an empty table closest to her and opened her books.

Study hall was uneventful like always. Jolie kept her eyes glued to her notes but she couldn’t focus on schoolwork this time. Instead, she started sketching on the margin of her notebook. She did that whenever she had something on her mind and needed movement to sort her thoughts out.

Soon, her sketches turned into a familiar face. A handsome guy with messy black hair, and piercing blue eyes so intense, it felt like they had a fire in them.

She was so deeply in love with Brant that she knew it was all worth the pain of the bad match but deep inside she felt frustrated. Jolie had always considered Matchmaking to be a flawed thing, and now that she got to experience the consequences of not fitting the system firsthand she was set on doing something against it.

Which was another reason why she was looking forward to meeting the rebels that night. They had promised her that they would mend the ‘bad match’ situation. Jolie had no idea how they were going to achieve that but the sense of hope it gave her was too strong to ignore. She was going to hear them out.

Jolie decided to circle back to her preparations for that night’s events. She had gone through them several times but she wanted to be sure that she was mentally prepared. She had received instructions from the Neverseen for how to get to the meeting. All she had to do was get out of the silver tower without drawing attention to herself, which sounded easy enough.

A bell sounded, marking the end of study hall and dismissing the prodigies. And even though Jolie felt the same sense of giddiness come over her as before, this time there was a hint of anxiety in the mix. Tonight’s events would become reality very soon, she realized.

It came even sooner than she wanted it to. After dinner, Jolie went up to her room and closed the door. She headed to her wardrobe where she had already laid out her outfit for the night.

She changed into a pair of black leggings and a black t-shirt with sleeves running past her elbows, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She hesitated when she reached for the chain hung around her neck—her home crystal.

The Neverseen had told her not take any leaping crystals with her, saying they would bring her back to Foxfire themselves. Jolie had no doubt they would do exactly that. But she just tucked her home crystal underneath her shirt anyway, as a precaution. She had to hope they wouldn’t notice.

Then she reached up to one of the top shelves, standing on her tiptoes, and retrieved a black cape she seldom used anymore. She clasped it around her shoulders, and stepped to her bag to dig out the envelope she had found in her locker earlier that day.

Jolie hadn’t had the chance to find out what it was yet. All she knew was that it was from the Neverseen. She opened it and found a single, tiny crystal on a thin chain, along with a note, that read:

_Follow the moon toward the clearing, _

_That is where we will be waiting._

Jolie stared at the letters for some time, as if gathering her courage to get going. All of it suddenly felt so real, and she felt fear crawl over her. But she let out a heavy sigh and willed her legs to carry her back into her bedroom.

She glanced around her one more time, letting the familiarity of the bedroom give her a sense of security. Her eyes wandered to the framed photo on her desk. A picture of her with Brant. His smile was so sweet that it made her panic subside a little.

_I’m doing this for you_, she thought to herself. _Doing it for us._

Then she raised the crystal into the air, making it cast a stream of light toward the floor. She stepped forward, letting it carry her away.

Jolie arrived in an area surrounded by tall trees, the sound of a river coming from somewhere nearby.

The moon shone a white light onto the scenery, and she was glad it was almost a full moon because the small light that trickled through the trees was barely enough to guide her steps.

She looked up at the sky. The white orb was rising just above the horizon so she made her way in that direction. She followed a narrow trail winding among the trees, curving around rocks and occasionally taking her closer to the rumbling river that glittered with a silver color in the moonlight.

The path started to lead Jolie up a slope and soon enough she was panting for air, as she channeled more energy to her legs to ease the climb. She tried to focus on all the reasons she was doing what she was doing to get her mind off the muscle pain.

She replayed all the horrible rumors she had heard about her and Brant regarding their Bad Match status. She remembered all the scorning, disgusted looks on people’s faces as they eyed them when they were together. All the distasteful jokes, all the rude remarks. If the Neverseen had a way to make all of that go away, she was at least going to give them a try.

In fact, she started to feel a sense of connection. One of the things that had been bothering her the most about society was also a high concern of the rebels, apparently. Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

_What if…_ Jolie had to stop the thought early. It almost felt treacherous but it kept gnawing at her mind so she let herself continue. _What if the Neverseen aren’t the bad guys after all? What if the Black Swan misjudged them?_

Jolie pondered that thought for a while, as she finally arrived at the top of the hill and the path evened out again.

Soon enough she saw the trees start to part, and she arrived at what she assumed was the clearing the Neverseen had mentioned in their note.

A cold breeze swept through the open area, and Jolie pulled her cape tighter around her, shivering slightly. It wasn’t just the chilly air—she felt like she was being watched.

Sure enough, as soon as Jolie neared the trees on the other side, she spotted a dark figure in the shadows, waiting for her.

The figure stepped toward her, and with a snap of their fingers they lit the torch they were holding up, filling the air with a sweet, choking smoke. Jolie froze. The figure was a Pyrokinetic, she realized.

Jolie held her breath as the rebel lifted the flame up to her face, feeling relief pour over her when he spoke. ‘It’s her.’

There was something about that voice that sounded awfully familiar but she couldn’t figure out where from. Jolie was forced to brush the thought aside when she saw movement from the corner of her eyes, more dark figures approaching her from all sides, surrounding her in a tight circle. They were all wearing the same, identical black cloaks, their faces hidden under the dark hoods.

Only then did she recognize a patch of white on each of their sleeves, glowing in the dark. When she squinted to get a better look, she realized that it was a circular symbol, with an eye in the middle and runes running around it. She couldn’t read them but could only assume that they spelled the name of their organization.

‘We have arranged this meeting today in order for you to prove yourself worthy,’ the voice of the Pyrokinetic cut off her thoughts. ‘Only a select few are accepted into our inner circles and you have shown great promise so far. But it will take far more for us to trust you. Are you ready to do whatever it takes to show us that you’re trustworthy?’

Jolie felt her mouth become dry. Doing whatever it took to prove herself didn’t sound very reassuring. She had no idea what he meant by it or what dangerous ordeal the Neverseen were planning for her but she had already come too far. She mustered all her courage and forced herself to say, ‘I am.’

With that, the leader nodded, and turned around to head into the woods behind him. Jolie followed hesitantly, with the rest of the members enclosing her on all sides. She knew they weren’t just going for an easy walk and the anticipation was making her incredibly nervous.

They didn’t walk for long before the leader raised his hand to make them stop again. He turned around to face Jolie, raising the torch. ‘Being a member of our group means that you fight for the same cause as us,’ he told her. ‘It means that your values align with ours and that you fight for the things that we do.’ He paused to let that sink in. ‘It also means that our enemies are your enemies, too. And our enemies need to be dealt with, once and for all.’

Jolie didn’t like that statement and didn’t know where the rebel was going with his speech but her heart picked up speed as the figure turned and pointed behind him. ‘Behind those trees you will find a human nuclear facility. It’s been poisoning this Earth for years, destroying nature all around. But not anymore.’

She felt her head spin as the leader handed her the torch. ‘I want you to set fire to it.’

Jolie felt bile rise in her throat. Surely that meant not only destroying the entire facility but also the humans inside. She knew how harmful those places could be but she wasn’t willing to harm living beings.

‘Remember, this is the only way to prove yourself,’ the Pyrokinetic told her when he sensed her hesitation. ‘And in case you had any doubts, even if you didn’t do it yourself, we would. But if you refuse there will be… consequences.’

At that point, Jolie felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t care about their promise to eliminate the issue of the bad match from their world, she didn’t care about learning anything else about the Neverseen. She just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. ‘I can’t do it,’ she replied in a shaky voice, handing the torch back to the cloaked figure. ‘I won’t harm humans, however evil they may be.’

The rebels stirred around her and started to murmur amongst each other but their leader put his hand up to silence them. ‘Jolie, we know you are smart and capable. And we know how much you want to make change in this world too. But sometimes those changes can only be achieved by making hard choices. This is a cause you should be concerning yourself with. This planet is for all of us to enjoy but humankind has again and again found selfish ways with which they are slowly destroying it. We just want to restore Earth to its original beauty and reclaim what’s rightfully ours. And if this is the way we have to do it, then we’re going to do it.’

‘No!’ Jolie shook her head. ‘Violence is never the answer. There has to be another way.’

‘There is no other way,’ he growled. ‘Humans don’t listen to reason anymore. They don’t see that what they are doing is wrong unless someone gives them a sober reminder.’

Jolie knew she was fighting a losing battle. The rebels seemed set in their ways and she didn’t want to be there when they unleashed chaos and set fire to the facility. ‘I won’t be the one to give them that reminder.’ She tried to sound firm but her voice had a small squeak to it, and she was shaking from head to toe.

‘You’ll have to find someone else for your cause. I’m not having any of it,’ she announced as she turned to push past the other members.

But the leader caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. The next thing she felt was a burning sensation spreading where the rebel’s fingers made contact with her skin. She screamed from the pain and tried to yank her arm away but he was holding on too tight.

‘You can’t leave now, Jolie. You’ve seen too much,’ he snarled, with a very subtle sadness to his voice that surprised her. But she didn’t have time to think about it when she heard him address another one of the members. ‘Wash her memories!’

The sudden panic gave Jolie the power to yank herself free. She swiveled around and quickly pushed through the sparsest part of the circle. The members barely had the time to register what was happening and reach for her. As she ran, she recovered her home crystal from under her shirt and raised it toward the sky.

Jolie heard running footsteps behind her but they were too late as the light whisked her away. Even so, she still heard the final words of the rebels. ‘You’ll regret this, Jolie Ruewen! Don’t think we can’t find you!’

The light carried Jolie to the pasture in front of her house in Havenfield. The lights in the sky indicated that it was nearing dawn. She had never felt so relieved to see her home before, and she felt tears streaming down her face as she approached the entrance.

As soon as she set foot in the foyer, she heard a door open upstairs. Normally, she would have tried to avoid her parents as much as possible but this time she felt overwhelmingly happy as she watched Grady and Edaline descend the stairs, both of them in robes, sleep in their eyes still.

‘Jolie?’ Edaline asked in surprise. ‘What are you doing home?’

Jolie didn’t think one second before rushing over to her mom and throwing her arms around her. She tried to open her mouth to say something but all that came out was a huge sob that turned into wailing as she started to cry against Edaline’s chest.

‘Honey, what’s wrong?’ Edaline asked at the same time as Grady said, ‘What happened?’

He got closer and put his hand on her shoulder, giving a comforting squeeze but all Jolie could do was shake her head.

They guided her to the couch in the living room, making her sit down. Her mom rushed to the kitchen to get her a warm drink, while her dad fetched a blanket from the nearby armchair. Grady sat down next to her, wrapping the soft fabric around Jolie. But as she reached up to pull it around her, her wrist brushed against the material, making her yelp from the burning pain on her wrist.

Grady frowned as he took her hand and examined the skin. ‘Eda!’ he called, the exact moment Edaline arrived back in the living room with a steaming mug that smelt of cinnacreme.

‘What is it?’ she asked, her expression mirroring her husband’s worry.

‘Can you get some ointment for a burn injury?’ Grady asked as Jolie started to silently cry again. She felt so bad for making her parents worry so much, especially after all the times she had gotten annoyed at them for doing the same. She saw way more from their perspectives all of a sudden and it pained her to remember times when she wasn’t grateful for how much they cared about her.

Edaline snapped her fingers, making a small vial appear in her hand, which she handed to Grady. Jolie watched as her dad gently applied the cool ointment to her wrist, seeing now in the approaching morning light what a horrible maroon color the burn mark had turned. She winced anytime Grady’s fingers came into contact with her skin but she gritted her teeth until he finished treating her.

When Grady had wrapped her wrist in gauze, Edaline handed Jolie the mug of cinnacreme and sat on her other side, drawing her into a gentle hug, brushing a hand up and down her back in a soothing motion. Grady also put an arm around her shoulder, and they stayed quiet for some time.

‘Okay, now tell us what happened,’ Grady finally broke the silence.

Jolie sniffled, raising the cup to her lips and taking a sip from the sweet drink. She stayed silent for a bit, trying to clear her head but the shock and exhaustion had taken a huge toll on her. And as she opened her mouth to speak, she just couldn’t push the words out. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, and then just gave up, shaking her head violently, more tears streaming down her face.

She knew if she told them anything about her incident with the Neverseen, she would also have to reveal many more things. And knowing her dad, he would have immediately gone after the rebels, which seemed like an extremely bad idea.

So, eventually, she just cleared her throat and said, ‘I don’t think I can talk about it yet.’

Grady didn’t seem satisfied with the answer. ‘I’m sorry for how you’re feeling, Jolie. But you do realize how scared this makes us, right? You come home unannounced early in the morning in this state, with burn marks on your wrist…’

‘Hey,’ Edaline shot him a warning look, as Jolie’s face scrunched up. ‘Give her a break, okay? You can see how shaken up she is!’ She drew Jolie closer to her. ‘When you feel better, you’ll tell us about it.’

‘Thank you,’ Jolie mumbled, her voice cracking.

Grady let out a sign. ‘We’re worried, is all. And we trust you, as we always have. But if you’re in any sort of danger,’ Grady told her, his eyes lingering on the gauze wrapped around her wrist, ‘we want you to stay in the house until you can tell us more.’

Jolie nodded slowly, not sure if she would ever be able to share her secrets.

After she finished the cinnacreme, they helped her up to her bedroom and waited until she climbed into bed before giving an encouraging smile and closing the door. The scene felt so nostalgic that it was almost enough to calm her nerves.

But as she slowly drifted off to uneasy sleep, the last words of the rebels rang in her ears.

_‘Don’t think we can’t find you!’_

Black hooded figures surrounded Jolie, forming a circle around her. As she tried to get through them, they started clawing at her, telling her to prove her loyalty and to join them. She tried several times to break free and when she finally managed to, she ran straight into their leader, who laughed mockingly as he grabbed a hold of her wrists, making her skin flare up with the all-too-familiar burning pain. ‘Give up, Jolie! There’s nothing you can do against us!’ he laughed mockingly.

She jolted awake at that, the sudden realization too much to handle.

Jolie hopped out of her bed, starting to pace frantically, as panic started to overwhelm her. She was trying to find any other explanation to what she knew at that moment but there was no other. A fear too paralyzing to ignore came over her as she pieced together the truth.

Because the voice of the leader was the same voice she had known for years and years. The same voice that belonged to the person she cared about the most.

It was Brant’s voice.

She didn’t want to admit it but she had to. There was no denying what she dreaded to acknowledge: her fiancé was in the Neverseen.

Jolie shook her head so hard it hurt. She could feel tears slide down her cheeks both from anger and desperation. She felt so helpless and alone as she tried to consider what to do next.

Should she tell her parents? Should she ask for the Black Swan’s help?

But what could they do in this situation? She didn’t want anybody else to get in danger because of her.

And what would they do to Brant if they found out?

So many things started clicking into place about him.

Jolie could feel herself spiraling as she sat down on her bed. She was so tempted to climb under the covers for comfort like she used to when she was a kid. But now that she was older she realized that hiding wouldn’t make her problems go away.

She got up to go to the bathroom and as she crossed the room, she heard a faint click.

‘Jolie? What happened? You look terrible, no offense,’ she heard the chirpy voice say as she turned to face the mirror. The girl with black hair had a concerned look on her face.

‘Hi, Vertina,’ she mumbled, sniffling as she wiped her eyes.

‘Seriously, what is it?’ the girl in the mirror pressed on. ‘Are those girls at school giving you a hard time about Brant again?

The mention of Brant’s name sent another surge of pain through Jolie’s chest. She sighed. Vertina could be annoyingly persistent when she put her mind to it. ‘No, it’s not that this time,’ she relented. ‘I’m just… I don’t know what to think anymore…’ She bit her lip, thinking of how the question that had been bothering her. ‘What if someone wasn’t who you thought they were?’ she asked.

Vertina rolled her eyes. ‘I can’t help you if you’re being all mysterious, you know that, right?’

‘I’m not trying to be mysterious,’ she retorted. ‘I’m just… trying to protect the people I love. I can’t say any more than that…’

Tears pricked her eyes and the fear returned to her heart. She could still hear the sneering voice of the rebels threatening her. What if they came after her family?

She would never forgive herself for that.

‘Okay, listen, I’m not great at anything apart from fashion advice,’ Vertina said. ‘But if you can’t tell anyone, maybe you could write it down at least? Get it out of your system?’

Jolie looked up at her. ‘That’s actually a pretty good idea.’

‘Well, I _was_ programmed for good ideas.’

Jolie smiled at that. She walked over to her desk and started searching for the journal she had been using to document her activity at the Black Swan. Then she realized that she probably still had it at Foxfire. Jolie smiled to herself, very glad at that moment that she was a Conjurer.

All she had to remember was where she had used it last. It was very likely that she had hid the journal in her desk, under the heaps of paper that concealed it. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the lavender color and the runes on the cover, and snapped her fingers.

Nothing.

She tried to visualize the journal in a couple of other places, snapping her fingers, getting more and more frustrated each time but it never yielded the desired result. She was about to give up, resolving to use a piece of paper instead, when she realized she had forgotten to try her satchel that was still slumped against her bed in the dorm room.

Jolie pictured the journal carefully wedged in between her textbooks and snapped her fingers. The journal appeared in her hand. A few seconds later she also conjured the mirrored compact she kept next to her journal and sat down at her desk.

She had a grueling task ahead, using the human mirror from the compact to write only the reflection of the Black Swan ruins.

It took her even longer than expected. She didn’t manage to finish that night, so she spent the next few days slowly, painstakingly copying each rune into the journal. They ended up in squiggly lines, sometimes almost running off the paper.

Jolie spent every waking second, every moment of her free time writing down everything she knew about the Neverseen. Grady and Edaline were busy with the animals during the day, so they only saw each other during meals and when either one of them checked in with Jolie before going to sleep. They also tried to get her involved with the animals, and Jolie reluctantly accepted to help. The fresh air cleared out her head and made it easier to go back to the monotony of journal writing.

When, on the third day, she finally finished, she didn’t have long to celebrate. It dawned on her that she now had to figure out what to do about the situation with Brant. The fact that he hadn’t even tried to contact her yet made her all the more anxious.

As Jolie got up from her desk her eyes wandered to the journal. Now that it had all that secret information inside about the Neverseen she had to hide it somewhere even safer than before.

An idea clicked in her head and she headed over to the mirror. Vertina appeared the moment she stepped into her range of vision.

‘I assume that’s where you’ve been writing your super secret thoughts down.’

Jolie nodded. ‘And now I need to share a minimal amount of information with you about this latest incident, in case the Black Swan needs to investigate.’

Vertina’s brows scrunched together at that. ‘Investigate what? Are you in danger Jolie?’

She hesitated to answer that. ‘I hope not,’ she replied finally. ‘But just in case…’ Jolie felt her voice get thick and found it difficult to swallow. She didn’t want to think about a worst case scenario.

‘Anyway… There’s this group, a group of rebels. They call themselves Neverseen. I wrote down everything I know about them in here,’ she said, showing the journal to Vertina. ‘And if anyone ever needs to find it, please tell them, ‘The truth lies behind the glass that is not a window’.’

‘‘The truth lies behind the glass that is not a window’,’ Vertina repeated.

‘That’s right. Also, do you remember that thing I said? About someone not being who I thought they were?’

Vertina nodded. ‘Yeah, although you were extremely vague about it.’

‘I know. I had to be… It’s to protect them, as well as myself. And about this,’ she pointed to the journal, ‘I don’t want you to tell the clue to just anyone that asks, even if you know them. Especially if I’m not around.’

‘Okay, that’s going to be kind of tough though. How do I know who to tell and who not to?’  
‘You’re right,’ Jolie admitted, pondering what to do.

‘You could try adding a password of sorts,’ Vertina offered. ‘That way, I’ll only reveal your secrets to the people that know how to look for them.’

Jolie started to think about words that could work. She had to pick something that wasn’t obvious enough for anyone to guess but that the Black Swan or those on their side could think of to say.

‘‘Swan song,’ Jolie said finally.

‘‘Swan song’?’ Vertina looked curious and surprised at the same time. ‘Why do I get the feeling that it doesn’t mean a good thing?’

‘It doesn’t,’ Jolie agreed sadly. ‘I can’t tell you more, though. I’m sorry.’

Vertina huffed slightly. ‘It’s fine. But Jolie?’ she added as she watched her turn away ‘Please be careful!’

Jolie slowly nodded. ‘I will.’

Then she stepped away from the mirror, hearing Vertina click off. She headed over to the secret compartment she had had for a long time in the corner of her room, hidden behind a small mirror on the wall.

Jolie pushed at the lower corner, making the small door pop out. She took one last look at the journal before popping it into the compartment and sealing it inside.

The following day, Jolie spent all of her time trying to come up with a plan. She decided not to get the Black Swan involved, apart from the journal she had left for them to find in case she couldn’t get to them first. And she definitely wasn’t going to tell her parents, in case they decided to go after the Neverseen which was by far the scariest thing Jolie could imagine. The rebels had people everywhere, most likely watching her and those around her, she knew that from experience. They would have no trouble intervening with anything she or her loved ones attempted against the rebel group.

No, she wasn’t going to put anyone in danger.

After lunch she was still brainstorming, and by the time her parents called her down for dinner she was still none the wiser. She eventually came to the conclusion that—unless she wanted to spend her remaining life locked up at Havenfield—she was going to have to confront Brant herself.

She was already missing school, and maybe it was just her getting stir-crazy but she wanted to take action already.

Jolie knew how incredibly dangerous her plan was. She suspected that Brant, along with the Neverseen were only waiting for the perfect time to get to her, and she knew they were at least going to wash her memories of them. If not worst… Jolie shuddered, not wanting to even consider that outcome.

She could only hope that Brant still loved her. Despite his secret, twisted role in the Neverseen, he still felt the same affection toward her as before. That he loved her enough not to hurt her.

It was a leap of faith but she was going to take it. She knew there had to be more to the story and wanted his perspective on things. However dangerous and insane that seemed.

Jolie was still pondering how to go about talking to Brant, sitting on her bed and staring at the wall opposite of her, when a gentle knocked snapped her out of her trance.

‘Can I come in?’ Edaline asked from the doorway.

Jolie nodded absentmindedly. Edaline crossed the room and sat down next to her. They sat in comfortable silence for a minute but Jolie could feel her worries gnawing at her conscience.

‘What if someone wasn’t who you thought they were?’ Jolie finally asked. It was a sudden question, obviously catching her mom off guard but in that very moment she really needed reassurance.

‘Well…’ Edaline paused for a second to think her answer through. ‘There will always be people who disappoint us, and it’s up to us to decide when to forgive, and when to walk away.’

Jolie knew that her mom probably thought her question had been in regards to her friends—former friends. She knew Edaline didn’t have the slightest clue how little that situation mattered to her anymore or what she was really worrying about.

But strangely enough, the advice applied to her current problem just as well. And it helped give her that final push she needed so much to make up her mind.

She looked up at her mom, staring at her face, wondering why she hadn’t appreciated her parents more before. Edaline saw her staring and smiled at her.

It sent such warmth through Jolie’s heart that she couldn’t stop herself from saying, ‘I love you, Mom.’

Edaline looked surprised for a split second but recovered quickly. ‘I love you too, Jolie,’ she told her gently. ‘And if you ever need anything, _anything_ at all. I’m right here for you, okay?’

Jolie nodded several times, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She leaned in for a hug to hide it from Edaline. If she could leave her safe in the belief that all of this was just due to another fight with her friends, she was going to do that.

That way she could keep her safe and deal with things on her own, like she intended to.

And the next day, she was going to visit Brant.

The sun was beginning to set over the horizon when Jolie finally made her way up the stairs to the cupola on the top floor. As she called the crystal down from the Leapmaster, she glanced out the window over the scenery, letting her eyes linger as if she were trying to take in all the details. The blue ocean, the beautiful pastures, all the animals scattered around the property—they all gave her a sense of comfort.

She let out a huge sigh and stepped into the light the crystal cast toward the ground. The warm light whisked her away and within moments, she was standing outside of Brant’s family’s house.

Jolie squared her shoulders. Even before she used to feel uncomfortable visiting Brant’s home, due to the tense atmosphere—she was aware of Brant’s shaky relationship with his parents. But right then she couldn’t help but feel like something really dark was hanging in the air.

She gathered all her courage and made her way up the stairs to the front entrance and rapped on the door with the knocker.

The few seconds seemed like years as she fidgeted with the sleeves of her blouse. Then someone opened the door and—

Brant stood in front of her, looking like he had been struck by lightning but recovered quickly with a smile that didn’t quite reach the eyes.

‘Jolie! What a lovely surprise,’ he murmured in the sweetest voice he could muster.

‘You don’t have to pretend, Brant. I know who you really are,’ Jolie whispered, hoping if she didn’t say it completely out loud it wouldn’t be true.

But just as she suspected, Brant’s expression darkened and his eyes sparked with anger as he maintained his fake smile.

As he opened his mouth to say something, a female voice sounded from inside the house. ‘Brant! Who is it?’

‘It’s Jolie, Mom! We are going for a walk,’ he announced, closing the door behind him.

Brant started toward the woods surrounding the house and Jolie followed him hesitantly. She did not like the idea of facing him alone, in a secluded place, but she knew it was just as bad to allow someone to eavesdrop on them. If she was going to try to change his mind and have him see reason, she would have to keep this between them.

When the house disappeared behind them, covered up by the trees, Brant finally stopped and turned around.

‘So, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you?’ he asked in a low voice, still faking a smile.

‘Drop the act, Brant. I recognized your voice from that night,’ Jolie replied, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

Brant chose to play innocent. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, Jolie.’

She felt herself becoming impatient which managed to ease some of the fear. ‘Yes you do! Stop lying, Brant, I know you’re with the Neverseen! There’s no use denying it anymore…’

With each word, Brant seemed to shrink more and more, casting his gaze to the side, as if he was deep in thought. Then he straightened up suddenly. ‘Okay, fine, you caught me. Bravo!’ he clapped for the added effect. ‘So, what, you’re going to try and stop me now? Or maybe try to convince me that I’ve made the wrong decision by joining them?’

‘There has to be a better way, Brant…’

Jolie tried to get closer but she froze in place when Brant yelled, his voice echoing through the trees. ‘Oh, please, tell me all about those better ways! You’ve always had it easy, Jolie. You have a sweet, supportive family, a lovely home. You’re in the elite levels thanks to your amazing ability... You don’t know what I’ve had to go through, what my life has been like. You can’t even start imagining what it feels like to live with a Forbidden Talent!’

‘Maybe not,’ Jolie started, ‘but believe me, if I knew this I would have done anything in my power to help! I can’t imagine the pain that comes with it...’

‘No, you can’t,’ Brant retorted angrily. ‘You have no idea how much I’ve had to struggle! How much pain my family has caused me. My parents had the memory of my manifesting erased from their minds because my dad was afraid it would endanger his position as a Regent. You know what he told me before the procedure? That if I ever as much as ignited a spark from my hands again, they would get me _banished_!’ He kicked a nearby tree, making Jolie jump from the sudden movement. Her heart was already frantic in her chest. She had never seen Brant so angry before but her fear was mixed with a painful sense of sorrow. She never knew how much Brant had had to suffer until then.

‘How could he say that?’ he continued, looking lost and desperate. ‘I had no say in my ability! _I didn’t choose this!_’ He snapped his fingers, a small flame appearing above his palm.

Jolie flinched at the fire, but willed herself to stay composed. She had to try and calm Brant down but she wasn’t sure how. She felt like he was an entirely different person.

‘I wish I could help, Brant. I truly do!’ she murmured in a soft voice.

‘Then come with me! Join the Neverseen!’ he told her.

Jolie shook her head. ‘No. I can’t do that. I don’t believe that violence solves anything.’

‘You think the Council would listen to anything else? They don’t care! They’re a bunch of lousy cowards!’ Brant spat. The angrier he got, the bigger the flame grew in his hand.

‘But think about all the chaos you cause,’ Jolie pleaded. ‘Look at what you did to me,’ she raised up her arm to reveal her wrist that still had the faintest trace of Brant’s burn.

Brant averted his gaze. ‘I didn’t mean to. I was too angry, and I tend to lose control when I am.’

‘Then stop before you hurt anyone else!’ Jolie begged. ‘Please, Brant…’

She stopped when she saw the tears streaming down his cheeks. The sight twisted Jolie’s heart, and she suddenly felt a sliver of hope that she was getting through to Brant. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared again when he said, ‘I’ve already come too far. I have to finish this. So that we can change this world once and for all.’

Jolie felt her heart sink. ‘It’s not too late to turn back still,’ she tried, but sensed how useless her words were. There was a look of determination in Brant’s eyes.

‘No, it is,’ he took a step toward her. ‘And I want you to do this with me.’

Jolie felt tears welling up in her eyes. ‘I can’t watch you harm innocent lives.’

‘How do you know they’re innocent?’ he retorted. ‘Why do you always have to assume the best about everyone?’

‘Because everyone deserves a chance.’

‘Yeah? And where’s my chance? When was I ever allowed to show people that I was worthy? That my ability wasn’t as horrible as they made it out to be?’ He started closing the distance between them, the flame growing bigger still above his palm. ‘Why should I suffer for the ignorance of everyone else?’

At this point he was already in front of her, and Jolie started backing away, Brant’s fire too close for her liking. ‘We’ll figure it out, Brant. Just give me some time to…’

‘You can’t convince me to leave the Neverseen, Jolie!’ Brant snapped. ‘Why is it that we’ve managed to overcome so much together, so many obstacles. And this one thing stands in our way?’

Jolie swallowed. She had no idea how to think straight anymore, the argument was wearing her out, and the fire still hovering above Brant’s palm wasn’t helping either. It had swollen to a scary size and she was trying the best to hide her trembling from him.

But her hesitation seemed to anger Brant even more. ‘Why can’t you see that we want the same thing?’ he bellowed, making Jolie stumble back, only to come into contact with the wide tree trunk behind her. ‘So what if there are a few casualties along the way? It’s a small price to pay to better this world!’

Jolie couldn’t hold her tears back any longer. This person in front of her couldn’t have been the person that she fell in love with. The person she had been planning her future with. This was a total stranger she knew nothing about.

‘Please…’ she tried, reaching out to hold on to Brant.

‘No! Stop trying to pretend like you can fix this! _I am so sick and tired of everything!_’ Brant screamed, and in that very moment Jolie knew he had lost control.

The flames exploded, tossing them in opposite directions. Jolie felt all the air get knocked out of her lungs as her back slammed into the tree’s trunk, and she collapsed on the ground. She raised her head, feeling dizzy, only to discover that the flames had already spread around her. Jolie scrambled to her feet and was immediately looking for a way to escape.

Panic surged in her chest. It was a scene from her worst nightmares, the searing, white-hot fire covering every inch of her surroundings, climbing the nearby trees and creating a sea of flames along the grass. Her eyes desperately darted around her, searching for an opening, a weak spot, anything that gave her a chance to get to safety and distance herself from this terror.

It then occurred to Jolie that she could try conjuring water to extinguish the fire. Her entire body shook as she tried desperately to visualize the ocean, a river, any surface of water she had seen lately, snapping her fingers more and more hopelessly each time. It proved useless, only tiny drops of water appearing and immediately evaporating from the heat with a hissing sound.

The horrible flames were spreading way too fast, faster than she could even process. They were closing in on Jolie, and she yelped as a flame licked at her feet. She started moving back and forth to try and avoid the deadly element. Tears ran down her face, a sense of desperation possessing her. Her sobs were muffled by the violent coughing that came over her, as she was struggling to catch her breath in the thick, strangling smoke.

She caught sight of Brant, further away, on the other side of the wall of orange-white flames. His face—and much of what Jolie could see of him—was severely burnt, so much so that it caused her stomach to churn. He, too, had panic written all over his face, mixed with something she couldn’t entirely decipher—regret? disbelief?—as he was struggling to get to her.

Jolie knew she should be furious with him, knew she should have absolutely every right to despise him with every cell in her body but… she couldn’t. She didn’t understand why that was and how it was possible to feel this for a person who had betrayed her in such a vile way. But when their eyes met one last time, she couldn’t feel even the slightest hint of hatred.

The next moment, one of the burning trees cracked in the middle, and fell into the path between them, sending a myriad of sparks flying into the air. She lost sight of Brant. The flames were too high.

Her head was swimming, her eyes full of tears—partly from the smoke but also from the realization that hit her: it was already too late. She felt the fire against her skin now, an agonizing burning sensation. Her cough-sobs turned into hoarse screams, and she thrashed as the pain spread through her body.

Her mind started to retreat but before it did, she saw a mental image of two people: Grady and Edaline, smiling at her, with so much love in their eyes and pride radiating through their gazes. Jolie’s heart ached severely at the memory of her parents, and as she slipped away, she used the last bit of energy to whisper ‘I love you, Mom, I love you, Dad! I’m sorry…’

Then she succumbed to the flames.

Brant was sitting on the ground, cradling his face in his hands, shaking so violently he thought he would fall apart. Enormous sobs shook his body, as he watched the scene play out in front of him. He could see Jolie collapse on the ground, already indistinguishable from the fire, like they had become one. His stomach gave in and he doubled over, heaving and retching, until he felt like he was all empty inside.

He tried to stand but darkness clouded his vision, and he swayed. He wasn’t conscious anymore when he hit the ground.

By the time Brant came to, the fire had died down leaving only ashes and sparks and a cloud of smoke. He felt a terrible headache but it was nothing compared to the searing pain where the fire had injured him. He gently ran his fingers along the burnt areas of skin and immediately jerked his hand away as pain shot through his nervous system, like his whole body was a web of agony.

Then his memories started coming back slowly. He could barely bring himself to stand on his feet and walk into the blackened field that was now only mounds of charred branches and grass, and…

Brant felt a strong wave of nausea hit him as he saw a black mound that looked eerily similar to a human figure. He stumbled backward, the earlier sense of panic returning to his chest. He tried to breathe but it was like something had lodged itself in his throat.

He couldn’t believe this had happened. He couldn’t believe _he_ had done this. A tornado of emotions was tearing through him, mixed with grief, self-hatred, paralyzing fear and rage. So much rage.

Brant jumped up to his feet suddenly and grabbed a thick branch lying on the ground. He lifted the branch above his head and brought it down on the ground with full force. He pounded the piece of wood repeatedly until it had shattered to hundreds of pieces, screaming his head off, then he collapsed on the ground next to the shards.

His face scrunched as his sobs turned to wailing, his tears flowing like rivers down his cheek. ‘What have I done?’ he heard himself say, repeating the words over and over. It became a desperate chanting as if that could undo the past few minutes and erase all the pain that he was feeling inside.

He was surprised to hear someone chuckling, and it took him some time to notice that the sound was coming form him. Brant wasn’t sure why but his sobs were now mixed with these strange, dark giggles. The duality of it seemed so morbid that he didn’t know what to do and it just kept getting stronger and stronger until he was flat out laughing, his tears and snot dripping from his chin.

_This is just a nightmare_, he thought almost amusedly. _I will wake up any second now. This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening…_

Brant repeated the words desperately, trying to will them to be true but he felt something inside him slip apart, like the last string of sanity he had been holding on to was cut. His eyes became glassy, as he hugged himself and rocked back and forth in his sitting position, still chuckling lightly, still crying.

If only he could stop… And the voices in his head were unbearable, part screaming, part indistinguishable words, mixed with other noises. He was not aware of his surroundings any longer. Time was not moving or standing still.

That is how they found him later.

But Brant couldn’t answer the desperate questions. He couldn’t register the shocked remarks about the remaining ashes. He didn’t do anything when the screams and sobs started around him. The world had become a huge blur, nothing making sense anymore.

He had killed the person he loved more than anything else.

_And nothing would ever bring her back._

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you liked it!  
If you have any comments, please feel free to leave them below! I love feedback and discussing Keeper of the Lost Cities so don't hesitate to engage me in conversation!  
I'm also on tumblr. My blog is dedicated to the KotLC fandom, come check it out @suldreen-saga


End file.
